


A Hero's Duty (One Shot)

by PuddlesofPupcake



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 09:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4601460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuddlesofPupcake/pseuds/PuddlesofPupcake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leviathan are back and Peggy has been chosen to carry out the mission that will save America. A mission that will force her to make the ultimate sacrifice as part of her hero's duty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Hero's Duty (One Shot)

My dearest Angela, I'm afraid I have not been entirely honest with you. By the time you are reading this I will be gone. I cannot reveal any more but...' 

Peggy's damp eyes scanned over her own shakily printed words, unable to get much further than the first sentence before her breath caught painfully in her throat. With a deep breath she pressed a crimson stained kiss to the paper and sealed the note inside an ivory coloured envelope. She cast a final somber look around the grand house she had come to call home almost three months earlier, the precious memories created there threatening to grab her tightly and keep her held hostage in their sanctuary, and honestly she wouldn't mind that at all. Her mind reluctantly came back to reality and acknowledged the duty she had to her country. Peggy swiftly turned the light off and placed the letter on the kitchen counter before she could be tempted to return to the safety of her bed.

* * *

"Agent Carter." Dooley stated simply as the woman stepped into his office. He wasn't one for emotions but Peggy did note his use of the word 'Agent' that was usually void from any interactions with her male coworkers.

"Okay, you know the drill." Dooley continued "You need to infiltrate the Leviathan base and shut down the missile launch. As we've discussed, we have intelligence that there's a very high chance that there will be a self destruct sequence. We'll be counting on you." Peggy nodded, keeping her eyes focused on Dooley's as not to give away the feelings that ate away at her mind.

"Well sir, I shall try not to disappoint." Dooley's soft nod and half smile indicted that perhaps through this mission Peggy had earned a little respect. A little too late, she couldn't help but think. 

As she crawled through the steel vent that seemed to be the most subtle entrance into the building, Peggy's mind couldn't help but drift home. Angie would be coming home soon, working the night shift catering to the demands of the New York public which apparently continued throughout the night. Yet every time she was stuck on that dreaded shift she still came in cheerful and grinning, sending Peggy off to work with a hug and a joke. 

The last month had been the best. Their increasingly close friendship had started to evolve into something much more special. The morning hug became a kiss on the cheek which eventually became something that required Peggy to keep a spare lipstick in her handbag. On the nights where neither of them were working listening to the radio with a bottle of Schnapps, curled up on the couch late into the night, had become a much better and more frequent option than retiring to their separate bedrooms. Peggy had found her reason to get home safe each day. 

The last month had been the worst. On the very morning after the night that contained a million spilled words and secret confessions of longing, Peggy found she had been selected for this task. A mission that would save the country but destroy her, much like the sacrifice of Steve Rogers. Trading her life for thousands of others. She always meant to tell Angie the truth but it never happened. She could never bring herself to wipe the innocent smile off of the younger woman's face, she couldn't dull her spark. She knew that for the limited time she could be conscious of her guilt, Peggy would not be able to forgive herself for taking the cowardly way of telling the truth.

A whirring sound became apparent in whatever room Peggy had found herself above. It had to be the missile launch machine. She awkwardly retrieved a small pen like device from her pocket, using the laser beam it emitted to cut a big enough hole in the steel. Now or never. Using all her training, she stealthily dropped down onto the floor of the room, taking out any one who got in her way towards the screen. All the rage she had held towards herself became aimed outwards towards the very people who made her sacrifice necessary. Finally, she managed to get close enough to the expanse of radars and monitors to slam her fist against the yellow button that had been described to her by Dooley. A horrific beeping sound sounded around her, announcing three more seconds to her life. Her last thought, of course, was dedicated to Angie Martinelli. The only reason that this mission seemed an appalling mistake.

* * *

"Hey Peg, I'm home! I brought a cherry pie if you've got time for a slice?" Angie flicked on the light as she walked in, her eyes falling into a scarlet marked envelope as she placed the pie down on the kitchen counter.

"Peggy?" She called out one more time, her pulse suddenly seeming to triple in pace. She opened the letter and read out loud, a habit she caught from a lifetime of reading scripts. 

"My dearest Angela, I'm afraid I have not been entirely honest with you. By the time you are reading this I will be gone. I cannot reveal any more than this but the mission I have embarked on this morning was one of no hope. My one regret in life will be leaving you behind. I love you, your angel Peggy." 

Angie's knees buckled beneath her, her body joining her heart on the kitchen floor. The words on the paper became smudged with tear drops, as if enough pain could obliterate them from existence. The distraught young woman clasped the paper to her chest, whispering "I love you" into her sobs. The three little words the shy English woman had only said for the first time through her goodbye.


End file.
